The following text comes from March, 2004 which was posted on a blog called
"Fund For
A Better Waterfront" which deals with development in Hoboken;
"Master Plan or master sham? 800 Jackson Street high rise negates
recommendations of
planning experts
The platform for the Ninth Street light rail train station, soon to open, would
be just 10
feet from the rear wall of the proposed 800 Jackson Street project containing 3
levels of
parking at its base.
For the past two years, the City of Hoboken, the Planning Board, the planning
firm of
Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates and numerous consultants have engaged the
community
at large in an intensive effort to rewrite the City's Master Plan. Hundreds of
Hoboken
residents attended a series of open public meetings to provide input for this
document
that will establish a blueprint for the future growth of the town. The planners
and public
officials alike became advocates for open space, controlled development and
preservation
of the best features of Hoboken as an "urban village." But as this planning
process was well
underway, City officials began closed door negotiations with developer Dean
Geibel that
brazenly ignored the recommendations of this new Master Plan.
Chapter III of the draft Master Plan, which is devoted entirely to open space,
states, "The
City should take a bold step by creating a multi-use path around Hoboken's
periphery that
would eventually connect a series of parks." The City should "aggressively
pursue" this
"green circuit" along Hoboken's waterfront and along New Jersey Transit's light
rail tracks
through the acquisition of land. In accordance with this recommendation, the
draft Master
Plan maps 800 Jackson Street, adjacent to the Ninth Street light rail station,
as public open
space.
But by June of 2003, City officials began talks with Dean Geibel to designate
him as the
developer of this site which he does not own. Thus, instead of an open public
plaza
leading up to the Ninth Street light rail station, 70% of the site would be
usurped by a 14-
story, 300-foot long residential project. Just 10 feet would separate the rear
wall of the
building from the light rail station, despite a 30 foot rear yard requirement.
Chapter II states, "Cooperation with the three neighboring municipalities and
the County is
vital to ensuring that development decisions of one community do not adversely
impact
the quality of life in another one." Chapter IX is concerned with this plan's
relationship to
other plans and part of its title is "Being Good Neighbors." Yet the Geibel
building would
rise 140 to 152 feet high, well above the top of the Palisades, completely
blocking
spectacular views of Hoboken, the Hudson River and the New York City skyline.
This Master Plan document recognizes Paterson Plank Road as an historic road,
"Hoboken's
original connection to inland New Jersey." Yet, the view enjoyed by all from
this road near
Congress Street in Jersey City would be forever lost. This T-intersection is
also the
location that connects Jersey City Heights to the Ninth Street light rail
station in Hoboken
via an elevator tower. Thus, all who approach this elevator tower at the top of
the Palisades
would be viewing the rear of this massive residential structure rather than
enjoying the
magnificent panorama that now exists.
800 Jackson Street is situated in Hoboken's Northwest Redevelopment Area. For
the
western redevelopment areas, the draft Master Plan recommends building new
neighborhoods, not isolated buildings. It also says that building monolithic
structures
taking up as much as half of a block, should be discouraged. Apparently, City
officials felt
no need to take these mandates seriously as they proceeded to pave the way for
this
project, a long, tall wall-like building.
Redevelopment areas provide the City wide latitude in deciding how land will be
developed. Under authority of New Jersey's redevelopment statutes, the City has
the power
to condemn properties, which would have considerable influence in determining
the value
of this property. This trapezoidal shaped block is owned by Casalino
Associates. Carlo and
Josephine Casalino purchased this land in January, 1953 which currently
consists of a
small one-story brick structure and parking lot. Dean Geibel has a contract to
purchase
this property.
New Jersey Transit was also interested in purchasing part of this block since
it is adjacent
to the Ninth Street light rail station. Talks broke down due to the high asking
price by the
property owners. This light rail system is part of a $2 billion project that
now runs from
Bayonne to Hoboken but will eventually travel north to Ridgefield, New Jersey.
Dean Geibel has built a series of projects throughout the center of Hoboken
that have
mostly conformed to 5-story building height limits and have been praised for
their
construction quality and exceptional design. This project is a departure from
his past
projects in that it dramatically contradicts the scale and character of
Hoboken's
architectural heritage.
At the last Hoboken City Council meeting, public testimony from Hoboken and
Jersey City
residents reflected deep-seated resentment in the community to these high-rise
developments. The upcoming Planning Board hearings scheduled to begin on April
8th for
site plan approval are likely to be contentious. The developer is requesting
about 9
variances from the Northwest Redevelopment plan despite the fact that state law
frowns
upon the granting of variances for redevelopment projects."
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
